Alcaraz beats Michelsen to reach Paris Masters third round

Carlos Alcaraz beat Alex Michelsen in the second round of the Paris Masters on November 4, advancing to a third-round match against Matteo Berrettini as several seeded players were eliminated. The second-seeded Spaniard won after a tight opening-set tiebreak and moved through in straight sets, although reports gave differing notation for the tiebreak score. The match lasted 1 hour and 42 minutes, according to the match report that included its duration. Michelsen, ranked 35th, pushed Alcaraz in the first set and led 4-1 in the tiebreak before Alcaraz won six consecutive points. Alcaraz then saved a break point in the second set, broke Michelsen in the following game and served out the match. He hit 26 winners to Michelsen’s 12 and won 77 percent of points behind his second serve, the match report said. The victory followed Alcaraz’s title run in Vienna, where he beat Alex de Minaur in the final. Alcaraz said before the Paris tournament that other players had told him the courts felt faster than last year, while adding that he had not yet tried them himself. He had previously reached the Paris Masters quarterfinals but had not advanced further. Berrettini secured the next...